Belt driven parking meter



July 27, 1937. H. s. JOHNS- BELT DRIVEN PARKING METER Filed Dec. 6, 1935M ENTOR ATTORNEY Patented July 27, 1937 PATENT OFFICE BELT DRIVENPARKING METER Herman S. Johns, Oklahoma City, Okla", assignor to lDnalParking Meter Company, Oklahoma City, Okla, a corporation of DelawareApplication December 6, 1935, Serial No. 53,191

d Claims.

My invention relates to meters, and more particularly to coin operatedtime measuring meters for collecting for vehicle parking and the like.

The prime object of the present invention is to provide a device of thisclass which is simple in construction, may be cheaply manufactured, andutilizes a coin for the purpose of indicating elapsed andunelapsed'parking time.

- Other objects of the invention are to provide a device of the classdescribed which is new, novel, practical and of utility; which has fewermoving parts than other devices previously designed for such purpose;which utilizes the coin as a means for readily indicating whether or notthe parking space being used is paid for; which may be easily andquickly adjusted for various periods of parlsing time; which displaysthe coin after insertion so as to prevent the use of a slug; a device inwhich the coin operates no mechanism, but merely acts as an indicatoralong a stationary time scale; which is durable; and, which will beeficient in accomplishing all purposes for which it is intended.

With these and other objects in view as will more fully appearhereinbelow, my invention consists in the construction, novel features,and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described, pointed outin the claims hereto appended, and illustrated in the accompanying one-3 sheet drawing, of which,

Figure l is an elevational view of the device, the upper part being insection and showing the coin conveying mechanism in operative position;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective View of the device installed on the top of ahollow post, in operative position; and,

Figure 4 is a perspective fragmentary view of the coin conveying belt.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in all the figures.

It is understood that various changes .in the form, proportion, size,shape, weight, material and other details of construction, within thescope of my invention may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or broad principle of my invention and without sacrificing any ofthe advantages thereof; and it is also understood that the drawing is tobe interpreted as being illustrative and not restrictive.

The inventive idea involved is capable of recelving a variety ofmechanical expressions one of which, for the purpose of illustratingtheinvention, is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein:- x

The reference numeral I indicates a head, made integral with a hollowcylindrical base member 2, adapted to lock in stationary position overthe top of a post 3, by means of an ordinarylocking element 4. The headis divided by a coin passage 5 formed by two alined transparent windows6 in connection with the walls of the head i. The passage '5communicates at one end with coin slots 1 and at its other end with acoin receptacle (not shown) supported by the base member 2. The passage5 also communicates throughout its length with a suitably shaped spaceor housing 3 located in the wall of the head i. The windows 6 are spacedapart sufiiciently to barely permit the passage of a coin slug, token ortheir mechanical equivalent 9 through the passage E3. The housing 8 alsocommunicates with the hollow cylindrical base 2, and serves as a housingfor a mechanical conveyingunit, which will now be described.

Two metal plates [0, their side surfaces oppositely disposed and alined,are spaced apart by and made integral with two interior 0ppositelydisposed and alined metal walls H, of a shorter length than the outsideplates. Both ends of the walls ll are turned inward toward Mounted overthese two pulleys is the endless soft rubber belt [4, the inner surfaceof which is protected from wear by a slightly wider and stiffer material15, such as leather or the like, made integral with the soft rubberportion. Qne of the two pulleys in the driving unit is adapted to bedriven to rotation by a power means (not shown), which is preferablyhoused in the base 2 or the post 3. The complete conveying unit isinserted into the housing 8 of thehead I, and is held in position byscrews through perforations (not shown) in one of the plates, and intocorresponding screw holes (not shown) in the wall of the head I. Inoperating position the outer surface of the belt I4 is in communicationwith the coin passage 5, and is so spaced from the opposite coin passagewall that the edge of a coin of the correct denomination will contactboth the wall opposite the belt and the surface of the belt; and cannotpass along the passage 5, without propulsion by the belt.

In operation, the device may be located in a limited parking zone. Acoin 9 is inserted by a customer in one of the coin slots 1, passes intothe passage 5, where its opposite edges contact the wall of the passage,and the surface of the belt ll. The surface of the belt is sufficientlysoft to slightly grip frictionally the edge of the coin, and by thiscontact, to move the coin along the passage. The belt is in constantmovement around the pulleys, and since the coin moves through thepassage at exactly the speed of the belt, the speed of the coin throughthe transparent passage' 5 may beregulated by a speed ratio change inthe power transmitting mechanism.

If placed in a fifteen minute parking zone, the

speed is regulated so that the coin is visible from either side of thepassage 5 for a total period of only fifteen minutes. Likewise, if thedevice is placed in an hour parking zone the speed of the belt isregulated so that the coin is visible in the passage for a total of onehour. When the coin has passed half way through the passage, an observercan easilytell that half of the parking time has elapsed, and can easilyestimate the number of minutes unelapsed, depending on the time zone inwhich the car is parked. When the entire parking time has elapsed, thecoin has reached the end of the passage 5, and is released from contactwith the surface or the belt I, and drops from view into a coinreceptacle (not shown) located in the base member 2.

Periodically the head i and base member 2 are unlocked from theirposition over the post 3, the coins are removed from the receptacle, andthe device replaced and locked in its operating position.

Obviously, the invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms otherthan that which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing and describedherein, and applicable for uses and purposes other than as detailed, andI therefore consider as my own all such modifications and adaptationsand other uses of the form of the device herein describedas fairly fallwithin the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the class described, a coin receiving passage havingoppositely disposed transparent walls, and a resilient endless conveyorbelt driven at a uniform speed along the passage and adapted tofrictionally engage the edge of a coin in the passage for causing itsmovement along the passage.

2. In a device of the class described, a housing comprising a hollowhead and a hollow base, a pulley axially mounted at the lower end ofsaid head, a pulley axially mounted at the upper end of said head, aresilient endless belt driven to travel over said pulleys, a coinpassage adjacent to and open at one edge to communicate with a portionof said belt, one wall of said passage, together with said portion ofthe belt, so spaced apart as to engage simultaneously the edge of a coinin the passage, the belt adapted to roll the coin along the passage asthe belt moves over the pulleys.

3. In a device of the class described, a coin receiving passage havingtwo opposite transparent walls, and a sponge rubber conveyor beltextending and driven to travel along one edge of said passage, said beltadapted to engage a coin in the passage and control its movement alongsaid passage.

4. In a device of the class described, a coin receiving passage havingtwo oppositely disposed visible transparent parallel walls, and aresilient endless conveyor belt forming one edge of said passage, theopposite edge being so spaced from said belt that the edge of a coin ofcertain diameter in the passage would be contacted both by the belt andthe opposite edge of said passage, said belt adapted to be driven at auniform speed along the passage, thereby causing a coin to move alongthe passage at the same speed as the belt, a coin in the passage adaptedto visibly divide the passage during its propulsion by the belt, andthereby indicate the elapsed and unelapsed proportion of 'the total timenecessary for the coin to pass from one end of the passage to the otherend.

5. In a device of the class described, a coin receiving passage havingtwo oppositely disposed transparent walls, a resilient endless beltforming one edge of said passage, a power driven pulley adapted to drivesaid belt at a constant speed along said passage, said belt adapted toengage the edge of a coin in said passage, to cause its contact with theopposite edge of said passage, and to propel the coin along the passageat a predetermined speed, and means for limiting lateral movement of thebelt in a direction away from the coin.

6. The combination with a pulley driven at a predetermined speed, of asecond pulley spaced from the first, and a resilient endless belt oversaid pulleys, the belt extending along the edge and forming one wall ofa coin receiving transparent sided passage, and adapted to propel a cointherethrough, the coin adapted to visibly divide the length of thepassage during its travel from one end of the passage to the other.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with a housingand a coin receiving passage therein formed with oppositely disposedtransparent side walls, and having-one open edge, of means forcontrollably conveying a coin along the passage including: a drivingpulley and a driven pulley, means for rotatably mounting the pulleys inspacedrelation, and a resilient endless conveyor belt operably mountedon the pulleys, said pulleys, mounting means, and belt adapted to beremovably disposed as a single unit along the open edge of said passagewith the belt in position to contact the edge of a coin in the passageand convey it along the passage.

8. In a device of the class described, a coin passage including twoopposite transparent side walls, a solid edge wall, and an opposite edgewall in the form of a resilient endless movably mounted belt; means formoving the belt along the passage at a uniform speed; the two edge wallsadapted to receive and cooperatively hold between them, by contactingits edge at opposite points, a coin of predetermined size; the saidresilient belt adapted, as it moves, to roll the coin along the oppositeedge wall and along the passage.

HERMAN S. JOHNS.

